A new advanced trail gives local mountain bikers more reason to test their skills

There are sections of the newest addition to the Hinton Bike Park’s trail system that arouse fear. The ground continually dips and bends, at times steeply dropping, leading to a sharply bending turn banked at the top of a cliff.

As a rookie to mountain biking, this was my impression from riding the Hinton Bike Park’s recently finished 850-metre advanced trail for the first time. Mike Jodoin, vice-president of the Hinton Mountain Biking Association, believes it is this fear — and the potential for a rider to overcome it — that brings excitement to the sport.

“The better shape you’re in, the faster you’re able to ride; the faster you’re able to ride, the more the trail changes,” he explains to me after an instructional session on Hinton’s continually growing network of trails. “Every time I go out on Happy Creek Trail, I’ll find something new; I’ll find a line I never had or I’ll clear a hill I don’t usually clear. I’ll take a corner faster than I’ve ever taken it.”

Jodoin says mastering the bike can turn obstacles into opportunities to gain speed, which is why competent downhill racers spend little time with their tires on the ground. This was evident watching local mountain biker Cody Begon descend the new black-diamond trail. I had dismounted from my bike to walk through a steep curve, when the former professional racer flew past. He resembled a downhill skier on a slalom course, skipping over rocks and flying off bumps.

“You’ll find that as you gain experience as a rider you learn to see the trail differently,” says Jodoin. “When you’re doing 30 miles an hour down the trail, it’s got much different opportunities presented to you than when you’re doing 20.”

Fundamentals of the sport dictate that the bike is a tool the rider uses to scale terrain. Full attention is required at all times, as a mountain biker’s body must continually change position to effectively steer the vehicle through a rapidly changing natural environment.

The consequences of losing control were evident to me as I travelled down the new course. Next to the trail tire tracks led straight into a tree, with no markings in the ground indicating braking. Avid mountain bikers carry evidence of their sport on their bodies, with scrapes and bruises decorating shins; tree branch scratches running across shoulders and arms like badges.

“It’s not a car ride; you’re not just looking at the scenery,” stresses Jodoin. “You’ve got to be paying attention all of the time.”

Mountain biking places different demands on the upper body than road cycling, as the rider’s physique is used to absorb the shocks of the trail.

“You use your upper body a lot more in mountain biking because you’re standing up a lot and carrying that weight,” says Jodoin. “It’s a much different workout.”

While approaching obstacles, a mountain biker’s ready position resembles that of a horse racer with buttocks off the seat, arms flexed and attention keenly directed forward. If going uphill the bum shifts to the nose of the seat, both hands gripping handlebars with thumbs overtop to ensure the front wheel stays in control. The riders weight distribution changes again for downhill sections, with buttocks suspended over the back of the seat. For turns the body directs the bike where to go, as if a laser beam were being emanated from the belly button down the trail.

The addition of another trail this summer brings Hinton’s mountain biking network to about 28 kilometres of terrain. Topsoil has been excavated off to make the trails, the underlying claylike surface hardened into banks, dips and hills carefully designed to allow rainfall to runoff. Puddles lead to soft trails that lose their shape from tire wear.

Mastery over the local facilities requires a bicycle with effective tires, good shocks and a strong frame that won’t crack from scaling the foothills. Jodoin suggests an adult rider invest at least $2,000 in a mountain bike, but the price tag for a reliable bicycle can reach $10,000.

But an initial investment and some skill brings liberation on two wheels, as Jodoin has found in the local bike park.

“I can go out here and I’m not getting a speeding ticket, I’m not getting a photo radar ticket, I’m not being told, ‘Hey, you didn’t signal for that lane change.’ I can do whatever I want. The trail for me is my canvas.’”